New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron has indicated that France would not have a problem if the Narendra Modi government shares some details of the Rafale deal with the Opposition provided the "commercial sensitivities" of all the parties involved are protected.
Macron, who is on a four-day visit to India, told India Today the deal was a "win-win'' for both countries but added that parties to commercial agreements are always keen that competitors don't get hold of the details.
"In India and in France, when the deal is very sensitive, we can't reveal details because of business reasons," he said in the interview, recorded ahead of his arrival in New Delhi on Friday evening.
"Secondly, there are some discussions to be organised by the Indian government, and they will have to consider which details they would want to be revealed to the Opposition and Parliament. I am not the one to interfere in such a discussion."
The Congress, which accuses the Narendra Modi government of agreeing to a much higher price than the UPA government's negotiated price of Rs 526.1 crore per jet, had on Friday cited figures from the annual report of Rafale's French manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, to support its claim. The report says India had ordered 36 Rafale aircraft in 2016 for 7.5 billion euros, which comes to Rs 1,670.7 crore a jet. It is not clear if this includes maintenance charges.
The Narendra Modi government has refused so far to share the value of the Rafale deal, citing a confidentiality agreement with France signed in 2008 when the UPA was in power and valid for 10 years.
Among 14 agreements the two countries signed on Saturday after Macron's meeting with Modi was an agreement on the exchange and reciprocal protection of classified information.
Saturday's agreement, the government said, reflects "the high level of strategic trust between the two countries''.
The two sides have also arrived at a "Joint Strategic Vision of India-France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region" to counter China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
"A strong part of our security and the world's stability is at stake in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean, like the Pacific Ocean, cannot become a place of hegemony,'' Macron said.
The vision document talks about the stakes France has in the Indian Ocean rim because of its overseas territories.
The joint statement issued after the meeting has the two leaders reaffirming their intent to start work at the six nuclear power reactor units at Jaitapur in Maharashtra by year-end. These units are part of the Agreement on the Development of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy signed by the two countries in 2008.
Once installed, the Jaitapur project will be the largest nuclear power plant in the world, with a total capacity of 9.6GW. It will help India achieve the goal of generating 40 per cent of its energy through non-fossil sources by 2030.
